Foley

Re "Foley Saga No Shock to Some," Oct. 3 What I hope people remember as this story unfolds is the fact that Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) comes from the holier-than-thou Republican Party -- the "family values" people. I've already heard the spin: how this could happen to either side, and Foley is just a bad apple. But it's the Republicans, not the Democrats, who have set themselves up as the "moral" party, telling us all how we should behave. In light of this most recent incident, as well as the shameful alleged coverup by the GOP leadership and all the current corruption investigations and resignations, the only question is: How long will people continue to be duped by the Republican Party's hypocrisy?

Dave Brockie Frontman for heavy metal GWAR Dave Brockie, 50, who as "Oderus Urungus" fronted the alien-costumed heavy metal band GWAR during graphic and fake-blood-soaked stage shows for more than three decades, was found dead Sunday evening at his home in Richmond, Va. Detectives currently don't suspect foul play, according to Richmond police spokeswoman Dionne Waugh, and the medical examiner's office will determine cause of...

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) expressed outrage Sunday over the Chinese government's attempt to deny that a mass slaughter of Chinese civilians took place at Tian An Men Square. Foley also condemned the death sentences given to eight people accused of attacking the Chinese army during the June 4 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing. "We are outraged as a country about the death sentences, about the suppression and about the enormous big lie that the Chinese government is attempting to tell about that story," Foley said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Tom Foley, a Washington Democrat who served 15 terms before losing his congressional seat in the 1994 Republican revolution, has died. Foley was 84, according to statement issued by House Speaker John A. Boehner announcing the news. Foley, a Spokane native, become the 57th speaker of the House in June 1989, after moving up the leadership ranks and chairing the House Agriculture Committee. He was the first sitting speaker since 1862 to lose his seat while holding the gavel and was succeeded by Rep. Newt Gingrich.

Re "Scandal Increases Republicans' Skid in Polls," Oct. 10 I am personally tired of and, more important, deeply suspicious of the relevance of recent polls purporting to demonstrate that the Foley scandal has crippled Republican congressional candidates and elevated Democrat prospects to near-certain victory, even control of the House and Senate. I give Americans credit for more logical thought than to attach the sexual peccadilloes of one member of Congress to the deduction that an entire related body is, ergo, corrupt and must at all costs be ousted.

From the wonderful people who based a presidential campaign on Willie Horton, we now have the snide, sneaky tactic of smearing Foley with a homosexual brush because he's a "liberal" (gasp!), just like admitted homosexual Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts. The underling in the Republican National Committee who dreamed up the dread memo (all by himself in the dead of night, of course) was fired by Atwater. Terrific! President Bush expressed disgust. Bravo! Now that we've reached the nadir of dirty politics, let's face it, folks--Atwater is Bush's boy and the President should fire him. LORRAINE SCHULBERG Beverly Hills

Re "Foley Case Shakes GOP," Oct. 4 The Times reported that "Republicans have been plunged into a wrenching debate about whether heads need to roll in order to convince voters that they are taking the case of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) ... seriously." I was struck that nothing was said about any personal moral conflict or sense of guilt on the part of the Republicans who allowed such an atrocity to continue. The politicians' only concern was how this might affect their image as the defenders of morality, and consequently their standing with the voters.

"Avatar" was the big winner Saturday night at the Motion Picture Sound Editors' 57th annual Golden Reel Awards. The James Cameron blockbuster won for best sound editing music in a feature film and sound effects and foley in a feature. "Up" won sound effects, foley, dialogue, ADR and music in an animated feature film, and "District 9" earned the award for sound effects, foley, dialogue and ADI in a foreign feature film. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" won for best sound editing music in a musical feature film and "Inglourious Basterds" won for best sound editing: dialogue and ADR in a feature film.

Don Foley made his first AIDS Walk Los Angeles 25 years ago, when the annual event first started. And he hasn't missed a one. On Sunday, Foley, 79, joined 30,000 others who walked the 6.2-mile route through West Hollywood to raise money and awareness to fight AIDS. While some marchers hoisted signs high into the air and chanted, Foley, moving with the others along Melrose Avenue, reflected on how much has changed over the years. Decades ago, there "wasn't much to do those days except watch your friends die," Foley said.

J. Michael Foley has been named vice president, investor relations, for Munson Properties Inc. in Fountain Valley. He will be responsible for raising money for the firm's limited partnerships and will handle investor communication. He will also be involved in the financing and refinancing of company-owned projects. Foley was previously vice president of marketing for Teachers Management & Investment Corp.

Former House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), whose death was announced Friday, embodied everything that seems to have vanished from Washington. A consensus-builder, he was well mannered, reserved and modest, and he led the House like an institution, not a political rally. He was the antithesis both of the man he replaced, Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat who wielded power like a club, and the man who would succeed him, Newt Gingrich, a Georgia Republican whose ego and ambition were too grandiose even for the nation's capital.

Chuck Foley, whose Twister party game brought shoeless strangers achingly close to one another and made even the most spirited rounds of Scrabble seem comparatively tame, has died. He was 82. The inventor, who held 97 patents, died July 1 in a care facility in St. Louis Park, Minn., family members said Wednesday. He had Alzheimer's disease. Foley came up with a wide variety of gizmos and games, including a hand-launched toy helicopter, soft-tipped darts, plastic toy handcuffs and "un-du," a liquid adhesive remover used by librarians, people who keep scrapbooks, and anyone who wants to lift an uncanceled stamp off a used envelope.

He got himself into a bit of a pickle in "Scandal's" Season 2 finale, but it looks like Jake's future on the show isn't doomed: ABC confirmed Friday that Scott Foley, who guest starred on the drama last season, will return as a series regular in the show's third season. Foley, probably best remembered for his role on young adult drama "Felicity," was introduced to "Scandal" viewers during the second half of last season as Jake Ballard, a mysterious military man with a connection to President Fitz (Tony Goldwyn)

No blood is spilled or flesh ripped on screen in "Berberian Sound Studio," Peter Strickland's disturbing satirical thriller about the dubbing of a ferocious horror movie made in the style of giallo directors such as Mario Bava, Pupi Avati and Dario Argento. Instead, all the violence is aural. The film combines the sounds of atrocities of the kind imagined by Edgar Allan Poe (achieved by the mutilation of vegetables in Foley work), plus eldritch wailings and warblings, unearthly screams and the eeriest of music - mostly provided by James Cargill of the indie electronic band Broadcast.

Without foley artist Gary Hecker,"Savages"would be a much quieter film. In the new thriller from director Oliver Stone based on the 2010 novel by Don Winslow, the decibels get pretty high when a Mexican drug cartel kidnaps the woman loved by two Laguna Beach pot growers. Whether the actors were loading rifles, typing on computer keyboards or simply walking across a floor, Hecker carefully re-created each sound using a room full of props on the foley stage at Todd-AO in Santa Monica.

Samuel L. Jacksonbrings a welcome world-weariness to his character in "The Samaritan," a man named Foley just released from prison after having served 25 years for killing his best friend in a con job gone wrong. But soon, Foley's found himself sucked back into a life on the grift, and Jackson launches into one of his many patented bellows and things take a turn for the predictable. (There's even an obvious twist lifted straight from a recent Asian crime film; to identify the movie would give it away.)

Federal judges and senior executive branch employees should get pay raises, House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) declared. "It may well be that they'll recommend that we phase out honorariums over a period of years with perhaps an increase over a period of years starting in the next Congress for members of Congress," Foley said at a political fund-raiser in New York. Foley's comments are the first indication that Congress is willing to reopen the politically volatile issue. The House in February, mindful of a public outcry, killed a 51% hike for judges, executives and legislators.

Cardinal John P. Foley, a priest who rose from working-class roots in Philadelphia to become the Vatican's longtime spokesman on Roman Catholic social teachings, has died. He was 76. Foley was perhaps best known to American audiences as host for 25 years of NBC's annual broadcast of the pope's Christmas Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. He died Dec. 11 of leukemia at a home for retired priests in Darby, Pa., the town where he was born. Citing fatigue and declining health, he returned to Philadelphia in February after four years as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a knighthood based in Rome.

"Avatar" was the big winner Saturday night at the Motion Picture Sound Editors' 57th annual Golden Reel Awards. The James Cameron blockbuster won for best sound editing music in a feature film and sound effects and foley in a feature. "Up" won sound effects, foley, dialogue, ADR and music in an animated feature film, and "District 9" earned the award for sound effects, foley, dialogue and ADI in a foreign feature film. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" won for best sound editing music in a musical feature film and "Inglourious Basterds" won for best sound editing: dialogue and ADR in a feature film.